The Nation's Premier Civil and Human Rights Coalition

Poverty & Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina exposed the shocking extent to which poverty and income disparities exist in our country. For many Americans, the tragedy made visible the unfinished struggle to achieve racial equality and economic justice. Appalled at the government's inability to respond in a timely and competent manner to the evacuation needs of those affected by the hurricane, Americans from across racial, economic and political spectrums saw Katrina and its devastation as an opportunity not only to examine what went wrong, but also to take preventive measures.

The inequities so glaringly exposed in Katrina's wake provide a rare window of opportunity to address policy priorities that have resulted in two Americas.